Taming Wild Fire
by Soubi-chan I am Immortal
Summary: A girl returns home, fulfilling her promise to reunite with her friends. When she returns to school grounds, she meets a punk. Not just any punk, a tri haired colored punk with an attitude that needs readjustment.
1. Punk 1: Prolouge

Punk 1: Proluge

A young girl teenage girl stands atop of a sand dune in the one of the many deserts of Egypt. Her light cream-and-rose skin glows in the sunlight, the complete opposite colour of the Egyptians. Her long black hair is pulled back into a ponytail while her front bangs hanging loosely above her grey-blue eyes. She silently gazes at the frozen waves of the sea of sand before her as memories of her past come to mind.

Flashback

_Her seven year old self stands in the JFK airport with two carry-on bags and a skinny young man stand besides her. He looks to be very soft spoken and introverted but by his posture one can tell he is quite confident. In front of them are two twelve year old girls and their parents. One has shoulder length brown hair and hazel-green eyes. The other has mid-back length red hair and green eyes._

_"Don't worry; I'll catch up with you guys later. We just have some work to finish around the world here and there." The girl by the luggage says reassuringly but excitement can be seen bursting in her eyes._

_"FLIGHT 297 WILL BE DEPARTING SHORTLY, ALL PASSENGERS PLEASE BOARD IF YOU ALL READY HAVE NOT, THANK YOU." A female voice announces over the loudspeakers._

_"Well, that's us Terry," The man says, picking up a carry-on bag. "We better get going or we'll miss the flight."_

"_I have to get going now, C-Ya." She says grabbing her bag. She smiles and waves as they all say their final fare wells. She walks off to the gate, never looking back._

End of Flashback

_I told them I would, plus our work is done for now…__and__ I still have to apply to a high school for the remainder of my seniour year. Won't they be surprised!_ She walks off the dune and heads to a near by oasis where a powerful chestnut brown horse is tied to a tree. She quickly unties the reins and mounts the beautiful creature, heading off towards the village where she is staying; smiling all the while, thinking of what new adventures will await her.

**HOPE YOU ALL LIKE THE PROLOGUE! AND WAIT TILL YOU SEE WHAT'S IN STORE FOR HER, C-YA.**


	2. Punk 2: First Encounter

Terry stands the gates of a decent sized high school, peering up at the tall building. Her grip tightens on the fabric strap of her messenger bag as she bites her lower lip. She had been home schooled since she was twelve, so suddenly being thrown into the middle of her seniour year nags at her mind consistently. Plus, she is pretty late do to all the jet lag and unpacking at home.

She straightens her grey short-sleeved shirt and tightens the belt on her jeans. There is a uniform but she did not get her order yet. Because of traveling a lot, she also has gained a nice figure which she does not like to show off too much.

_This is it…_ she thinks as she walks through the gates and heads to the main office to get her schedule. She patiently waits in the office, sitting in the few seats left out for visitors.

"May I help you?" A woman asks, peering over her glasses, eyeing Terry suspiciously.

"Yes, my name is Terry Sharif. I'm the new student. My Dad called a few days earlier for my admission." She explains to the attendant with the "could not careless" attitude.

"Name please." She says monotonously, looking through papers continuously but not really looking at them all the same.

"Uhm Sharif Terry…." Terry repeats, not wanting to provoke the bored woman. She stands, huffing, and opens a filing cabinet.

"And why aren't you wearing the uniform?" She asks, heading to the front counter, across from Terry.

"My order hasn't come in yet. They said in another few days."

"Hmmm…if you say so," She says untrustingly. "Well head to guidance, it is the first door on the left when you exit from that door." She hands Terry some papers and points to a door labeled "Students Entrance". Terry smiles and thanks the woman before heading to the guidance office. She goes through the same monotonous routine before being sent back to the main office to get some other papers and shoe locker combination.

A loud bell rings throughout the school as the next class starts and Terry runs. On her way, she bumps into someone, knocking her and the person off balance.

"Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." She says as she picks up a few scattered papers,

"You better be sorry! Watch where you're goin' next time!" they snap viciously. Terry lets their rude tone slide and leaves them. "Dumb bitch…." She hears them mutter as she walks past them and stands still for a bit. She debates if she should turn around and snap back or just ignore them and walk on. She decides not to and bites down on her tongue, heading on her way again when she feels a pair of eyes staring at her. She peeks over her shoulder to see a guy her age, about a head taller than her with cream-and-peach skin, spiky tri-coloured hair, and intense azure-violet eyes.

_Not bad…. _She thinks as she finally acknowledged the person. She then notices him smirking about something before turning the corner. _What's he smirking about?_ she thinks as she narrows her eyes slightly annoyed. She just brushes the thoughts of him and the encounter out of her mind and continues on her way to her class.

She wanders the hallways aimlessly, confused and lost, looking for her class when she sees a very tall brunette.

_Maybe he can help…._ She walks over to the boy hesitantly and clears her throat. "Excuse me…but can you tell me where room 3-B is?" He looks at her with his icy blue eyes and replies.

"Hnh, follow me." He curtly replies and begins to walk and she quickly follows. They eventually reach a room that reads 3-B and opens the door, entering the classroom. She hesitantly follows and grabs the attention of everyone.

"May I help you?" The female teacher asks, a tad bit upset by the intrusion.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Terry Sharif. I am new here." She hands the teacher a note from the main office. The teacher reads the note quickly and nods in understanding. She turns to the board and begins to write on it.

"Okay class, this is Sharif Terry." She says, done writing on the board. Terry looks to see her name written in big neat letters. "She will be joining us for the remainder of the year. So please, be kind to her." She then turns to Terry. "You may sit by Mr. Kaiba." She points to the tall brunette who had helped Terry. Terry nods and thanks the teacher before silently taking her seat.

"Thanks for you help." She smiles kindly at her classmate as she sits.

"Whatever." Is all he grunts and continues his work, ignoring her and everything else completely.

_Someone's grouchy…why is that all the people I've met today are angry in some way? Today just must be one of those days…_ She sighs at the last thought and turns to face the front. She pulls out a notebook and pen from her bag and starts to jot down a bunch of notes for the rest of the period. When the bell rings, the class begins to fill with light chatter as the teacher leaves to her next class. The next teacher soon arrives at the sounding of the bell and she notices an empty seat by the window.

_I wonder who's not here…oh well._ She shrugs and returns her attention back to the class and jots down notes. The class is soon interrupted by a late comer and all look to see who it is lazily. _Tri-colored hair…. Hmm…why does that seem so familiar...?_ She ponders a bit clueless when it hits her and she slightly panics when she remembers why it is so oddly familiar. _It's not like he'll remember me…right? I mean what are the odds? I just hope he isn't still sour about before._ Her thoughts are interrupted by the teacher.

"It's nice of you to join us Atem." He says.

"The name's Yami and yea I thought I could easily catch some zees." He comments back smirking.

"I let that slide 'Yami', but you are twenty minutes late!" The professor says sternly.

"Your point is? Just be glad I actually came to this snore fest."

"You could fail my class at this rate. And I don't want to do that."

"Yea, yea, just quit your whining. You're worse than a baby." He walks off and takes the empty seat by the window. Terry can no longer pay attention to the lesson due to all the snickering coming from around her, so she takes out her sketchpad and begins to mindlessly sketch. The bell rings and the students around her start to pull out their lunch so she quickly gathers her stuff and leaves to search the school a bit, not wanting to rely on others for help. During her small tour, she again bumps into someone and falls on her butt.

_Not again! Hopefully it's someone kind!_ Terry thinks as she hesitantly looks to see who she bumped into this time.

**HOPE YOU ALL LIKE THIS CHAPTER! SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! WELL UNTIL NEXT TIME, C-YA.**


	3. Punk 3: What a First Day

Terry hesitantly looks up to see Kaiba and sighs with slight relief but is still a bit anxious. So far he seems to be a tad bit upset and cold so she really does not know what to expect form him.

"Sorry about that…I wasn't really paying attention." She says while scratching the back of her head after standing and dusting herself off.

"You're lucky you're new. Watch where you're going next time, or you'll end up in big trouble." He says rather coldly, as if not wanting to be here at the moment.

[_Is he watching out for me or just being extremely rude…? I'll take the first…benefit of the doubt._] She smiles and nods. "Thanks for the warning; I'll keep that in mind. As you know, my name is Terry Sharif. Yours is Kaiba, right?"She extends out her hand in a greeting gesture.

"Hn," Is all he says in reply, not even paying attention to the extended hand.

[_Uhh…I guess he's ignoring me…._] She drops her hand to her side, feeling a tad bit awkward.

"Seto, you could be a little nicer!" A girl's voice says from behind Terry. "His name's Kaiba Seto, he just won't say it 'cus he thinks you'll act all weird around him." The girl says as she stops beside Terry.

"Oh," [_Kaiba Seto…why does it sound so familiar…hmmm…._] Terry turns to the girl, who looks to be the same age as Terry, and examines her a bit [_Why does she look so familiar too…_.] "And long time no see hunh?" Terry says smiling at the girl as it finally hits her.

"Eh…?" She stares at Terry, utterly confused.

"Honestly Katori?" Terry sighs, "And you said I'd forget you guys…." She rolls her eyes at the baffled girl.

"Wait…what?" Katori raises a brow at Terry and eyes her suspiciously. [_Am I supposed to know her?_] She thinks as she leans in a bit, examining Terry closely when it hits her like a ton of bricks. "Oh my-Terry, when did you come?" She shouts excitedly and pounces on Terry as she finally realizes that Terry is Terry.

"Just last night, or early this morning as some says." Terry wobbles to keep her footing, not really in the mood to meet the floor again. "How've you been?" She laughs.

"Great, I've missed you so much! Seto, this is my friend Terry the one I told you about!"

"So this is that Terry." He says very apathetically.

"Aren't you just a big ball of happiness and energy?" Terry mutters loudly purposely and sarcastically, earning a glare from the tall cold emotionless brunette. "You're the B.F.G.'s anti-social twin aren't you?"

"B.F.G….?" He slightly raises a brow in curiosity.

"The Big Friendly Giant," Terry replies as if it is common knowledge.

"And what does that make me?" He asks reluctantly and emotionlessly.

"The B.A.G. of course…!"

"I know I'm going to regret this…." He mutters to himself. "B.A.G….?"

"The Big Apathetic Giant…." Terry grins and Kaiba glares.

"Oh will you two stop?" Katori sighs. "Terry, stop provoking him!"

"Awe c'mon," she pouts. "I'm just teasing him, not my fault Mr. Stiff can't take a joke." She mutters to herself as she crosses her arms. Kaiba growls, balling his fists and takes a step forward. He is about to snap back when Katori comes between them and stops him.

"Chill out Seto." Katori says calmly. "She's just playing around."

"Hnh, she's not worth my time anyway." He comments cockily.

Some laughter fills the air around them and they all look to see a blonde male and another brunette, but he is not as tall as Kaiba. Behind them appears a pretty girl with short brown hair wearing a pink blazer, blue miniskirt, and a giant blue bow.

[_Okay seriously, no one can pull of that look! How do they expect girls to wear that gigantic blue monstrosity of a ribbon…!_] Terry thinks as she inwardly cringes at the uniform. She never did pay attention to the look until now.

"What do you want mutt?" Kaiba snaps.

"Seto, stop it!" Katori scolds.

"Yeah Kaiba, down boy," The blonde boy sneers at Kaiba "Good boy!"

"Jonouchi," Katori turns to the blonde. "You too…!"

"My, my, seems like I'm the only outsider here." Terry whistles lightly, happy to no longer be the eye of attention as the other laugh at Jonouchi's scolding when the other brunette walks up to her and bows respectfully at her.

"Hello, my name is Honda Hiroto." He suavely kisses the back of Terry's hand. "May I ask the name bestowed on such a beautiful maiden as your self?"

"Terry Sharif." She replies hesitantly, a bit embarrassed by such a greeting, and withdraws her hand. This is definitely an upgrade from the other harsh and cold ones she has gotten all day but is still queer. "Just call me Terry."

"Do you ever quit flirting?" The female brunette comments from besides Katori; seeming to be a bit annoyed by Honda's greeting to Terry.

"I'm not flirting!" He snaps back. "I'm being a gentleman!"

"Oh please!" Jonouchi cuts in. "You're a flirt and you know it!"

"Uhh…is this normal?" Terry whispers to Katori, who nods in reply. "Ah, and they're your friends I presume?" She nods again. "I see, well I'm gonna head back to my class now, before I'm late again so later." She waves to Katori and turns to Kaiba. "See you in class B.A.G.!" She grins and dashes down the hall before he can grab her but hears him growl in protest. "You know I think Aggressive fits the 'A' in that title too." She snickers as she returns to her seat.

She pretty much mindlessly sketches as the other students do as they please that is school appropriate or try to sneak in things while the teacher isn't looking. The bell rings and all students head back to their classrooms. At the final bell, the students pack their bags and head to their shoe lockers. Terry rushes as well but ends up being pushed and shoved around as she tries to be polite and excuse herself. She eventually reaches her locker and fights with the crowd to put on her sneakers.

Once finished, Terry walks home and passes by a park. She decides to rest a bit and sits on a bench, sighing with relief.

[_Man that was hectic! I'm sure I have bruise somewhere from that ordeal! And I have to go through it every day._] She closes her eyes and enjoys the gentle breeze when something collides with side of her head. She looks to see a soccer ball as she rubs the sore area.

"Sorry!" A boy's voice calls out as they run up to Terry.

"Oh it's all right." She smiles kindly. "Accidents happen all the time, here." She hands him the ball.

"I'm really sorry." He looks down apologetically. He is about ten at most, Terry guesses, with spiky tri-coloured hair and big azure-violet eyes that are filled with guilt. Terry pushes the sense of familiarity aside and ruffles his hair a bit.

"No need to worry. I've been through much worse. You have one powerful kick though!" She compliments.

"Did you get the ball?" Another boy runs up to Terry but this one has long black hair and big blue-grey eyes.

"Yup, here it is!" the tri-colour haired one says, raising the ball above his head.

"Well, c'mon lets go play some more before my big brother has to pick me up!"

"Oh yeah," He turns to Terry. "Sorry about hitting you lady, bye!" They run off and Terry chuckles to herself, refreshed by their innocence. She continues her way home, calling her Father to tell him she'll be home soon.

**HOPE YOU ALL LIKE THIS CHAPTER! I WONDER WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! WELL DUH…I KNOW BUT YOU DON'T! FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON TAMING A WILD FIRE! SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! WELL UNTIL NEXT TIME, C-YA.**


	4. Punk 4: Trying to Fit In

"I'm home!" Terry calls as she enters her home.

"Welcome home." A tall man with soft golden brown hair and gentle almond eyes behind frameless glasses embraces her warmly. Terry gladly returns the hug, grateful for having such a kind Father. He takes her school bag as she unties her laces and the both head to the kitchen.

"So, how was the 'first day'?" He asks, draping an apron over his clothes and she sighs, tying a half apron around her waist. "That doesn't sound happy."

"It wasn't that bad," She shrugs "Better than what it could've been."

"Details would be nice. You serious about wanting to be a novelist, key factors are detail." He teases.

"I know," she scowls. "I bumped into one rude guy, met another rather cold one, met up with Katori, met a nicer guy, and two others."

"Mhm….Well at least you met up with Katori right?" He says chopping some meat as Terry chops the vegetables.

"Yeah, that is a plus. One of the other two, Jonouchi, seems really cool and vaguely familiar too. Honda was very kind too. He tried acting suave but his friends shot him down. There was pretty girl too but I never got her name. Then there was Kaiba, he's a bit stiff and cold but I'm sure he has his reasons."

"Kaiba, as in Kaiba Seto…?" Her Father looks a bit stunned by this snippet of information.

"Uhh yeah, why…?"

"He's the youngest CEO thus far. Kaiba has become one of the youngest corporate sensations in history. Mind you, the guy is still very young, your age in fact, and yet he runs his own world-recognized tech corporation. Kaiba is himself a skilled computer user and a genius designer, making a number of technological leaps, mostly in the realm of entertainment."

"I'm competing with a genius prodigy in school grades!" Terry frowns; wrinkling her nose as she finally remembers why he is so familiar, also because she has to compete with him in grades. [_His face is on the NEWS all the time and in tabloids galore!_] "Thanks for that confidence booster Dad! I stink at Calculus and you know it. He'll never let me live it down."

"Now Terry, some healthy competition isn't always bad. I'm sure you're better than him at English or Art."

"I guess…," She sighs, "I still can't believe I didn't recognize who he was sooner."

"It's okay; he's just another person like us."

"With billions of dollars, infinite amounts of technology, and a super genius mind to his name." She murmurs and her Father looks at her shocked. "I'm kidding Dad. I know he's a person like anyone else, no matter what's to his name."

"Phew, that's a relief!" He sighs. "For a second there I thought I lost my little girl to the mass beliefs of society."

"Nah, I won't go that easy." She grins. "Plus, I'm too weird to be accepted even if I tried." She suddenly lets out a yelp as she burns her hand on the stove fire. Her Father drops the knife in his hand and inspects her hand. He quickly runs it under cold water for a bit, dries it, and lightly coats her hand in sugar to keep it from blistering.

"Stay right here." He says firmly and looks for the first aid kit somewhere. After sometime of shuffling through the packed and unpacked things, he finds the kit and hurries back. The sugar has pretty much absorbed the water from the burn but it still can blister. He rinses her hand again, dries it gently, and applies the burn medicine before wrapping it. Terry's hand is burned pretty badly, not enough to scar, but a lot of the burn medicine has been used. "Are you all right?" He finally asks sighing with relief she is taken care of.

"I'm sorry…," she says barely above a whisper.

"Whatever for…?" He whispers kindly, making her look at him.

"You told me to be careful many times before but I keep doing that!" She sighs. "Plus you used a lot burn medicine, made a huge mess, and I ruined dinner too." She says, noting the spilled curry, meat, and vegetables on the floor. "And I know you're going to take me to see a doctor tomorrow to have it checked out."

"Oh don't worry about those things!" He waves them off carelessly. "And don't even try to talk about a doctor's bill. All I'm doing is worrying about my daughter." He ruffles her hair a bit and kisses her on her forehead.

"I'm sorry," She frowns lightly. "Thank you."

"There's no need to apologize and you're welcome." He smiles kindly. "Now you go start your homework. I'll clean up here." She nods her head in agreement knowing full well that he will not let her help him clean up.

As Mr. Sharif cleans up the mess, Terry tries and struggles to write with her right hand. Sighing, she gives up and writes with her left hand. This is not the first time she has accidentally burnt or injured herself due to her condition, she had taught herself how to do things with her left hand because of such. Terry eventually finishes her homework and falls asleep, exhausted, amongst her circle of books on the floor. Mr. Sharif comes in soon after and sees her peacefully resting and gently places a pillow beneath her head and drapes a blanket over her.

"Sweet dreams honey." He whispers softly after glancing back one last time and quietly shuts the amazing creak less door before heading to his own room.

The next day, the two of them rise early to start unpacking again before heading out at six to their soon to be daily destination. Mr. Sharif attained a well paying job from a friend of his. The only down side is that there can be a lot of late nights and sometimes weekend work. Other than that, he is pretty much set. Of course, Mr. Sharif had talked to Terry about this and she agreed to it since he seems so excited about the offer. He has been given the position as head designer for some big corporation. Though Mr. Sharif is a known Archeologist, he also majored in design, having a passion for art which obviously passed on to his daughter Terry.

Terry still did not receive her uniform for some reason so she cancelled the order. She found it pointless and they got their money back. So she pretty much stuck out like a sore thumb in her simple t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers in comparison to the rest of the girls dressed in a blazer, skirt, and loafers. The teachers get slightly annoyed by the lack of dress code so they told her to at least wear clothes similar to the uniform. So, Terry dressed in a skirt that reaches the middle of her thigh, a vest, a plain white blouse, thigh high stockings, and sepia ankle boots with a slight heel and laces. This pleases the teachers and they happily conduct their class.

She also realizes that Katori and she have the same class; she just did not recognize her from across the classroom. During lunch she wanders the school halls with Katori, catching up on lost time. She also officially meets Jonouchi Katsuya, the blonde that seems to have a bone or fifty to pick with Kaiba.

"So it's pronounced 'Tare-ee Sha-reef?" Jonouchi says slowly, trying to pronounce the foreign name properly.

"Yup, you got it!" Terry nods.

"So you're American?" Terry shakes her head left and right.

"I'm half Arabian and half Japanese." She corrects. "My Mother is Japanese and my Father is Arabian."

"Oh, that's cool." He grins. "Is Terry short for something?"

"Uhh yeah…Terumi," She replies a bit hesitant. "My Mother named me."

"What are your hobbies?" Honda asks.

"I have to say soccer, tennis, chess, drawing, writing, reading, and archeology." She says thoughtfully, resting most of her weight on her heels for a bit.

"What happen to your hand?" Jonouchi asks, pulling it up into everyone's view. Terry sighs in defeat, seeing that her attempts to hide it have failed.

"Terry, what happen this time? Are you all right? How long have you had this?" Katori freaks out, asking twenty questions.

"It's okay Katori," Terry cuts in, trying to calm her ruffled friend. "It was an accident that happened yesterday at home. It's nothing too big; my Dad took care of it."

"If you say so…." Katori gives in skeptical.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." She slightly winces in pain as Jonouchi accidentally squeezes her injured hand.

"Sorry about that!" He drops her hand, raising his own high into the sky. "That was an accident."

"It's okay." She grins; ignoring the pain as it slowly dies down. "Accidents happen all the time."

"So you forgive me?" Jonouchi's expression flips from super puppy dog pout to hyper excited anxious. Terry lightly laughs and nods her head as he pulls her into a big bear hug, ruffling her hair.

"Who's Jonouchi killing now?" A new female voice says from somewhere. They all look around and finally spot another girl with a tall tan boy with white sand blonde hair who looks Egyptian.

"Marik…?" Terry raises a brow in slight surprise at the male and notices her fingers are interlaced with the girl's fingers. "Emiko…?" The couple look at each other and then to Terry in slight confusion. Terry sighs, realizing this is a repeat of yesterday with Katori. She pries herself free of Jonouchi's bear hug and straightens her clothes before looking at the two new comers. "Seriously Marik, Emiko I can understand. I haven't seen her in eleven years, but you? I last met you three years ago!"

"Terry…?" Marik's eyes bug out a bit at first but he quickly recovers and pulls her into a tight hug. "I never expected you to come here!"

"Ha-ha, yeah, my Dad got a nice job here and he wanted me to enjoy the end of my high school life with kids my age."

"Man, you've really grown!" He pulls her arm length away, seeing that she is almost his height now. "You use to be way shorter than me!"He teases. "And I see you grew in other areas as well." He smirks, whispering the last bit to her. Terry's cheeks lightly tinge pink from the meaning and she scowls to hide it and playfully smacks him. He laughs and smiles. "I deserved that one." Before Terry can say anything, she is pulled in to a vice grip hug by Emiko who is lightly tearing. "Glad to see you too…but I can't breathe!" She struggles to say from the sudden lack of oxygen.

"Oh I'm so sorry!"Emiko blushes and lets her go.

"Ha-ha, its okay." Terry waves it off, rubbing her throat a bit.

"I told you I didn't dream it!" Katori interjects and everyone laughs knowing how Emiko so adamantly believed Katori dreamt yesterday up. Marik wraps his arms around Emiko lovingly and pecks her on the cheek as she blushes lightly.

"Well I'm glad to see you have been doing well." Terry finally says. "It's been a while."

"You can say that again!" Emiko exclaims. "Eleven years!" Terry laughs as Emiko drills her about her life like Katori had moments ago. She easily answers the questions and satisfies her friends need.

They all pretty much hang to the side of the hall, talking about anything in general and telling Jonouchi and Honda of how they know each other and what not. Terry is in the middle of explaining something when she is shoved into Jonouchi from behind.

"Move it bitch." Someone coolly states. They all look to see a trio of people consisting of two guys and one girl. One has long snow white hair with dark mahogany eyes and pale skin, the other is the punk Terry bumped into yesterday, and then the pretty girl from yesterday.

"Shut it Bakura!" Jonouchi snaps back at the white haired one. "She wasn't even in your way."

"Thank you." Terry says as she stands up. "Let it go Jonouchi." she says calmly.

"Yeah Jonouchi, be a good mutt and listen to your new mistress." He smirks cockily. Jonouchi is about spring at him but Terry stops him.

"He's not worth it." She calmly replies and turns to the white haired one. "I'm sorry, next time I'll be sure to move aside."

"You better." He snorts. "I won't be so lenient next time."

"Then I thank you for your kindness. I'll try to make sure there is no next time." He scowls and the trio leaves down the hall. Terry notices the sudden depressed vibe coming from the group, especially Jonouchi, but decides not to question it just yet.

"C'mon, let's get back to class." They all agree and silently break up but Terry stops Jonouchi.

"I'm sorry if I hurt your pride or anything but I didn't want you getting hurt for something trivial."

"Hunh…? Oh no, it's not your fault." He reassures. "I just have other things on my mind."

"Things will work out eventually, just don't give up." Terry smiles confidently. "I don't know what's bothering all of you, especially you, but trust me, if you truly believe and try your hardest, things will work out the way you want it to in the end." Jonouchi is stunned by this small amount of advice and hugs her tightly. Thanking her. "Don't look down, keep your chin up and smile."

"Yeah," he nods. "I will!" He grins an ear to ear grin. "See ya later!" He runs to class and she waves, heading to her own.

The rest of the day goes on as school usually does but for her last two classes, Terry reports to the computer lab and then the art room. In the computer lab, she learns advanced Computer Graphics and in the art room, she starts a painting assignment assigned by the teacher who wants to see how well off Terry is.

The next day Terry comes in and the routine begins to settle a bit as she tries to adjust to the system. She does have a few mess ups of not standing to greet the teacher that comes in or the class participation part and some other minor details. The other kids snicker at her expense and she just feels herself shrink into herself as she slinks down into her seat trying to hide herself. She looks over at Kaiba sitting next to her and finds a miniscule smirk on his face.

[_Great…!_] She mentally groans. [_I even got the emotionless evil CEO to smirk…._] She feel something small and light bounce off the back of her head so she turns around to see what it was and who flung it. She turns to see Jonouchi who gives her a reassuring thumb up and she smiles and nods in reply. The teacher clears her throat, sternly looking at the two of them and continues her lesson as planned. Time slowly ticks by and eventually class is over. As soon as the bell sounds, Jonouchi lets out a joyful cheer and throws his hands into the air.

The other students laugh as the teacher glares daggers at him before she leaves and allows lunch time to commence.

"It's not like I cursed her off or anything." He grumbles to himself, taking the empty seat in front of Terry who snickers as he scowls.

"Well you could've at least waited for her to leave the room. She's one of the snobbiest teachers here." Katori points out, propping her hands on Kaiba's desk. Jonouchi wrinkles his nose at the point. She flashes a quick smile at Kaiba who grunts lightly in response. Jonouchi makes a face at the book in Kaiba's hand that is covering his face.

"If you value your looks mutt, you'll stop the stupidity. I can easily make your face stay that way. It'd be an upgrade for you." Kaiba says coldly, a smirk on his lips.

"What did you say about my face?" Jonouchi snarls, grabbing Kaiba's collar. Terry jumps in her seat a bit and is soon holding Jonouchi back as Katori stands in front of Kaiba.

"C'mon you guys! Don't you think this is all getting a bit old?" Terry struggles to say as she restrains the rabid Jonouchi who is constantly saying "Let me at 'em" over and over again as he tries to break free.

**ON TAMING A WILD FIRE!!!!! SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! WELL UNTIL NEXT TIME, C-YA.**


	5. Punk 5: Trouble Brewing

"Sorry mutt but I don't fight with the unarmed…." He looks Jonouchi open and down with a very unimpressed look. "In your case, the forever unarmed."

"Why I ought a…!" Jonouchi snarls, tugging his arms from Terry's grip. Seeing as this is not going to last, Terry yanks him back and stands before him.

"He's not worth it Jonouchi." She turns to Kaiba and points at him accusingly. "And you need to stop with the insulting snarky commentary."

"What are you going to do about it?" He scoffs.

"Don't test me Kaiba, when I mean business, I mean business!" She warns.

"I'll believe it when I see it." He rolls his eyes.

"C'mon Seto, you promised!" Katori frowns lightly, crossing her arms. He looks down at her and sees the the jutting out lower lip, instantly feeling some guilt pulling at his heart.

_Damn it, she knows I hate when she does that!_ He closes his eyes and rubs his temple, letting out a slow breath to calm down. "Whatever." he mutters and sits back down. Katori jumps a little and sits in Terry's seat beside him, pecking him on the cheek quickly.

"I think I'm going to gag!" Jonouchi says, holding his stomach, feigning an ill look. Terry laughs lightly and pushes him towards the door.

"You promised me a grand tour, today, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I did!" He grins broadly as it hits him and grabs her wrist before running out of the classroom. Terry is flung off her feet at the sudden burst but she quickly catches some footing and is following him to the front of the school. He shows her all the areas she needs to know, where to avoid at what time, what teachers do to catch students, which teachers are the best to be caught by, and so on.

"This is the closet I used to nap in and hide from teachers and classes from." He says proudly.

"Used to…?" She raises a brow in question.

"I wasn't always the amazingly studious and devilishly handsome kick ass student you see now." He says with a regal air about him, waving his hand a bit as he describes himself. The only image that comes to her mind is him snoring in class and him pigging out on food. Terry bites her lower lip to keep herself from laughing and just nods her head. "I was a delinquent bully that hung with the tough crowd." He thumbs his nose and throws a few loose jabs. "I was a real fighter, well still am but I use to pick the fights as well. I didn't give two craps about anything and then I met Yami and he showed me that I didn't have to be that way." He blurts out and Terry looks at him in slight shock.

"Yami was a good guy once?" She recalls him shoving her aside once, book checking someone on the hall, cursing off teachers, and nowhere in sight for classes. "That I don't see ever being a possibility…but what happened?"

"I don't like talking about it." Jonouchi sighs sadly and runs his fingers through his cornflower hair. His mahogany brown eyes, though looking at the floor, show a distant gaze.

"Well sometimes talking to someone will help." She shrugs lightly as her voice snaps him out of his thoughts. "It doesn't have to be someone who knows everything, but someone you feel comfortable telling." Jonouchi just looks at her funny. This was the second time she gave him some wise advice out of nowhere instead of pestering him about the issue or blowing it off and calling him some type of wimp. "But you don't have to, but it helps put things into perspective."

"You're not going to ask me are you?" He raises a brow, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Well no, it's not my place to ask. I mean I just met you and you may not be comfortable in telling me. Plus I don't want to force you. You should talk about it when you are ready to." She smiles kindly.

"You're a weirdo!" He lightly nudges her chin with his knuckles.

"Gee, thanks!" She rolls her eyes.

"You're very welcome!" He grins and is about to say something else, but his stomache grumbles loudly. Terry laughs as he pouts and a tint of red paints on his cheeks. He scratches the back of his head.

"C'mon, let's head back to the classroom and eat." She grabs his hand and leads the way. Jonouchi follows a few steps behind, staring at the back of her head.

_You really don't remember? I mean I know it has been a while but…nothing?_ He lets out a small sigh before walking at her speed. They sit by his desk just to avoid another Kaiba conflict and talk about the latest game crazes, movies, shows, and whatever else they can think of. The week pretty much goes on as such, minus the small spat with Bakura and his two buddies. Her and Jonouchi have been hitting it off pretty smoothly too, becoming fast friends.

The school week runs smoothly up until the last day. Terry somehow ends up in their way again and is shoved to the floor roughly with a glare. She was picking up her books that someone knocked out of her hand and Bakura stumbled over her. Out of anger, he kicked her hand aside and walked off muttering a curse. She takes it calmly and rubs her sore hand. The doctor said she was lucky to have treated it on time and that it will heal in due time, she needs to let it rest as the new skin regenerates over the scar.

On Monday, Terry walks to school with Emiko, Marik, and Honda. On the way, Terry notices Bakura alone and staring at her.

"You guys go ahead…I need to see something." She says hesitantly and the three agree, Marik noticed and is the most reluctant but decides not to alert the other two and agrees.

"So you're not as stupid as I thought." Bakura smirks.

"You were blatantly staring at me and you don't have your two friends with you." Terry replies calmly. "What do you need?"

"I just wanted to say I hope you enjoy your little present I left you." He smirks. She glares lightly, demanding an explanation. "It's a surprise, behind the school." He winks and laughs maniacally. Terry quickly runs to the school, past her friends, and straight to the back of the school and skids to a stop. There she sees Jonouchi sitting on the floor, beaten and bruised.

"Jonouchi…." She kneels beside him, inspecting his injuries, and notices a note on the floor with a time and place written on it, her name neatly written on the bottom. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Consider this a warning." He replies hoarsely.

"I'm sorry…I should've been more careful."

"Nah, this stuff happens to me all the time." He grins. "I know you didn't mean it."

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up." She smiles and helps him to the school nurse. They make up some lame excuse of saving a kid from becoming road kill and she pretty much buys it, tearing from the made up sob story. Terry is ushered back to class to let Jonouchi rest for a bit. On her way, she meets a snickering trio. She purposely stops in front of them and hands Bakura the note, ignoring the glares and remarks from the other two. Bakura quickly glances at the note and smirks.

"I'll be there…."

"Alone." She states firmly.

"Agreed…" He smirks and places the note in his pocket. Yami eyes her and Anzu rudely shoves past Terry as they leave and Terry runs to class, late again.

**WELL UNTIL NEXT TIME, C-YA.**


	6. Punk 6: First Fight

The morning classes go by smoothly and nothing too out of the ordinary happen except for minour things. Usually during class when she is bored, Terry doodles on the corners of her notebook while paying attention. Today, her demeanour is much different though. She is not really paying any attention to the teacher's lecture at all but is staring intently at her desk. Kaiba notices the change from her usual kind and gentle ways to serious and determined.

_Now this is definitely new…. What would cause such a drastic change, I wonder. Katori will tell me herself, so it's useless prying now._ He sighs and returns to his own little world. The classes pass by and soon it is lunch time. Terry grabs her lunch and begins to head down to the nurse to check up on Jonouchi but is stopped by a blockade of her friends.

"Mind explaining this morning? You sprinted right past us!" Emiko states firmly.

"Uhm, I had to check on something. I had a bad feeling about it." She brushes it off as nothing.

"Oh, what gave you that feeling?"

"A little birdie gave me a hint." She states plainly. Terry is trying to act calm about this all, keeping her usual smile on her face. "It's nothing to worry about, listen I have to go to the administration's office so I'll see you guys later all right?" She did not want to lie to them but did not want to give it all way either. Katori opens her mouth to protest but is cut off by a familiar voice.

"I have to go to, I'll go with you." He says from behind Terry.

"Kaiba, you're going to go with Terry?" Everyone questions in disbelief.

"Yeah so what…?" He growls in a daring way and grabs Terry by her elbow. "C'mon, I'm not waiting for you. I have important matters to discuss with the head."

"Uh, yeah, sure…!" She quickly matches his pace and they head off in silence. "Thank you, for back there." She says when they are out of sight from the others.

"Hnh, if you didn't want to speak you should've just said so. You shouldn't let others push you around." He scolds slightly but she knows he means well.

"Heh, I'm not so good at that kind of aggression." She says, scratching the back of her head. "But how'd you know?"

"You've been acting funny all day." He states plainly. "You're not as helpless as you usually are."

_Helpless…is that how he sees it?_ She raises a brow in question but does not press the matter. "I have something important to do is all and I plan on going through with it." She states firmly but kindly.

"Hnh whatever…." He snorts lightly and heads into the administration's office while she heads on further to the nurse's.

"Excuse me, is Jonouchi here?" She asks the nurse who points to one of the curtained beds. "Thank you." She heads over and calls out to him.

"Oh, hey Terry," he yawns and stretches, scratching his messy hair. "What's up?"

"Ha-ha, nothing, it's lunch time now so I thought I'd stop by for a bit and check up on you."

"Awe, you didn't have to!" He blushes lightly. "I'm a tough guy! I can take pain with ease!" He yelps in pain as he pulls a bruised area and Terry laughs.

"I can see that. Here, eat something." She hands him her lunch, not really hungry.

"Hunh, what about you…?"

"I had a huge breakfast!" She laughs lightly. "My Dad just went all out today."

"You sure…?" She nods in reply. "Thanks!" He soon starts to stuff his face with the English style lunch, enjoying the taste of it. He compliments it but it is all muffled due to the fact his mouth is stuffed. Terry laughs and thanks him for the compliment.

"How long will you be staying here?" She asks, seeing that he has finished.

"I dunno," He says, swallowing the last of the food. "I can't go home and I'm too sore to go to class."

"So you're staying here." Terry concludes. "You have any plans after school?"

"Nothing special, just hanging out with Hiroto, why?"

"Curious," she shrugs. "I have something to take care of after school. So I'm going to be busy."

"What do you have to take care of?"

"A minour school thing…."

"So you're going to be here?" She nods and he grimaces. "Eeegh, that sounds boring!"

"Ha-ha, it has to be done. Better now than later."

"Meh, I guess so…still sounds boring though." He wrinkles his nose. "You want company?"

"No, it's okay." She shakes her head 'no'. "Ha-ha, I'm pretty sure you'd rather be anywhere but here." She chuckles at his relieved expression.

"Heh, ya got me there!" He grins. "Well I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah pretty much, they'll probably let you out early since you're injured and the fight to the exit is brutal."

"Yup, I just am lucky like that." He smirks cockily.

"Ha-ha, sure you are. Well I better head back, I'll see you tomorrow. Feel better soon." She gives him a gentle hug and leaves a really happy Jonouchi. As she exits, she bumps into Honda. "Oh, hey Honda…."

"Hey Terry, were you talking with Katsuya?"

"Uhm, yeah why…?" She asks a bit hesitant, not sure what Jonouchi has or has not told him.

"Did he tell you how he ended up here?" Terry freezes a bit but composes her self and shakes her head 'no'.

_I figured out what happened, he just told me what the message was._ She reassures herself. Not in the mood to lie. "But I did help him here; he told the nurse that he saved a kid from getting run over by some speeding car."

"That's not what he told me." Terry gulps as Honda glares at her.

"O-oh, is that so?" She tries to remain calm.

"Quit the crap Terry, I know you know." He practically hisses. "Why did you get some thugs to beat him up?"

"Thugs…me…?" She raises a brow in confusion and realizes Jonouchi told him about the note and the fight. "You understood him wrong. That was a trap to lure him. I never gave him a note." Terry explains. "Someone used him as a warning to me."

"Who…?" He demands.

"That doesn't concern you." She says kindly.

"Dammit, Terry, yes it does!" He snarls. "Whoever the fuck is after you beat Katsuya! They're going to pay!"

"No it doesn't." She looks him straight in the eye and he backs down. "Do me one favour, take care of Jonouchi for now. Leave the rest to me."

"Fine…." He reluctantly agrees.

"I trust you Honda." He nods his head and she heads back to class. As Terry heads down the halls, she hears a lot of sniggering and murmuring around her but she ignores it all. As she enters her classroom, everyone goes silent and watch her as she sits in her seat quietly. She notices a few people point at her and whisper things to their friends.

_I'm guessing some rumour has spread._ She sighs. _It was bound to happen sometime. But I wonder who though…Bakura doesn't seem like type for sleazy things like character defamation._

"So how'd it go?" Katori ask. Terry notices a change in her attitude and raises a brow in confusion. "Look you could've just told me you know! And what's with all this going behind my back? I thought we were friends!" She snaps.

"I don't understand…what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb!" Emiko glares.

"Play dumb about what?"

"I never expected you, of all people, to do such a thing! But I guess it's true when they say people change!"

"What are you two talking about?" Terry asks in utter confusion.

"That you've been trying to steal boyfriends and your latest target is Kaiba!"

"Eh!?" Terry practically falls out of her chair form this information. "I try to steal who and what about Kaiba?" She tries to fathom what was just told to her. "Who told you this?"

"Anzu did!" They point to the pretty girl that Terry has seen with Bakura and with her friends. "Anzu, come here!"

"Yes?"

"You were the one that told us about the whole boyfriend thing right!"

"Well that's what I heard from some other girls." She says with such innocence.

"See, others have been talking about it!"

"So this is high school?" Terry sighs and stands. "Look, I never tried and don't plan on stealing someone's boyfriend. I don't believe they are things that can be stolen; they are human like you and me. Secondly, I wasn't even aware you were dating, let alone Kaiba. I don't know who started this rumour but that is all it is, a rumour." She looks to the new girl and notices something in her eyes but it quickly leaves as soon as it came.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you…."

"Mazaki Anzu."

"Mazaki, right, well like I said, a pleasure…." The bell rings and they all head back to their seats. The rest of the day progresses and at the end of the day, Terry runs home and quickly changes into a pair of jeans and a random shirt before running out again, telling her Father she has to take care of something and that she will be home as soon as possible. Her Father awkwardly agrees, having a good feeling something is up. He knows that when she is like this, nothing can change her mind at all.

_Stay safe…._ He prays inwardly and waits at home for her while she runs at all her speed to the school yard. Terry ends up climbing over the back wall that is covered in vines. She stumbles on her footing and falls on her foot funny, twisting bruising her ankle badly. She ignores it though and heads to the area where she found Jonouchi this morning.

_Well this is it._ She looks around in the dim light of the stars and hears some laughter.

"Took you long enough…." Bakura scoffs.

"I apologize that I kept you waiting but it seems you don't know the meaning of alone." She says nonchalantly, strolling over to where his voice is. The moment she reaches a certain point, a bunch of lights switch on and she finds herself on the pitcher's mound of the baseball field.

"Oh, how so…?" he coos, leaning against the dugout.

"You're friends are here with you. Those two you're always with." She states. "Either way, that isn't why I'm here, nor do I care about them. You hurt Jonouchi when I'm the one you're after."

"So?"

"I don't care if you push and shove me around, but when you hurt others because of me, I can't let that go so easy."

"Well aren't we the little heroine?" He mocks, strolling over to Terry.

"Keep others out of this."

"Make me." Bakura smirks maliciously. Terry eyes him suspiciously and everything is still when suddenly she puts up her guard as he tries to punch her. Instantly a fight ensues from there. Terry is mainly blocking hits since he is doing a full out frontal assault. She blocks as many as possible but many of her blocks are broken by his strikes, hitting their target dead on. She is able to get in a few hits but is blocking most of the time. She uses this to her advantage though. She grabs a hold of his wrist and flips him over. Bakura turns this into his favour by landing on his feet and smashes her into the nearby wall. He charges at her and she quickly jumps out of the way and tries to kick the side of his head but he catches her foot and throws her away again. Terry goes crashing into the ground and skids from the force and lies there, as if unconscious.

"What, is that all you got…?" Bakura sneers, walking up to her beaten body. He kicks her few times, making her rollover in the dust and she coughs from the blow to her chest.

"Terry!" Someone cries out and they run up to her. Emiko comes running into sight and kneels besides her after shoving him off with all her strength. "Terry!"

"What's this, an unexpected visitor?" Bakura glares at her but she just curses him off. "I hate rude unexpected guests that don't know there place!" He grabs her by her hair and tugs her towards himself. She lets out a yelp and continues to curse him off. "Your shrieks are annoying! I'm going to shut you up for good!" He is about to bash her face into the ground when suddenly Terry is back in action. She kicks Bakura's hand, making him release Emiko from his grasp. She is currently balancing herself on her left foot and hand, her launched foot besides Bakura's head.

"Stop it." She glares at him. Bakura smirks he notices the seriously bruised and swelling ankle.

"This foot, you fell on it when you first came here, didn't you?" His smirk grows as he grabs a hold of it in both hands and starts to grind the injured area. "Well, doesn't it hurt? Isn't it torturous and agonizing?" He laughs manically as he crushes the injured area in his powerful grip. "You like using kicks it seems. But you seriously couldn't have expected to beat someone like me while using your injured leg as your guard!"

"It isn't there as a guard." She flatly replies.

"What did you say?" He hisses.

"It doesn't matter…where I'm hurt; it makes no difference to me. I decide to do what I do. And when I do decide that something I want to do…" She uses her captured leg as a pivot bar and twirls, pushing off of her left foot and kicking the side of his jaw after he releases her other foot. "I do that and only that, that's all!" She punches him square in the chest with her right hand, the burnt hand, with all her might and ends up knocking the wind out of him.

"Next time you have a score to settle with me, come to me. Don't go around attacking others and my friends to." She says sternly before turning to Emiko. "Are you all right?" She asks with great concern.

"Terry, Emiko!" They hear a bunch of people yell as Bakura and his friends leave glaring relentlessly and muttering colourful curses.

"Terry, are you all right?" Katori freaks out.

"What the hell were you thinking, fighting with that bastard while you're injured?" Jonouchi scolds, seething with anger. "He could've-might've-would've-gah!" He lets out cry of frustration. "You lied to me!"

"This is what you meant?" Honda scolds. "This was stupid!"

"It's okay Jonouchi, I'm fine." She smiles kindly and he sighs in defeat. "I told you I have it under control Honda."

"You knew?' He grabs Honda by the collar and starts demanding some answers.

"He only knew pieces." Terry clarifies and Jonouchi lets him go reluctantly. "But how did you all end up here?"

"Well, Emiko was at Katori's place with Marik doing some project when they saw lights in the distance. Honda and I were just walking around by your house and we decided to drop by. Your Dad told us you were still out and he seemed pretty worried since you hadn't called so we went to look for you. That's when we met up with them. I had a hunch you were in trouble the moment I found out you weren't home!" Jonouchi explains, scowling.

"Why didn't you tell us? We could've helped you!" Marik argues.

"It wasn't your fight." She plainly states. "Either way, I better get home now before my Dad is even more worried." She begins to walk off when someone stops her by cutting in front of her, kneeling down their back to them.

"Climb on; you'll get there faster like this." She tries to talk him out of it but to no avail and ends up being carried on Jonouchi's back.

"I'm sorry…." She sighs. "Thank you."

**WELL UNTIL NEXT TIME, C-YA.**


	7. Punk 7: A Bit of Insight

"It's the least I can do." He turns his head to look at her, a huge grin on his face. "Well, I'm gonna take her home. You guys should be getting to yours as well."

"Yeah, Jonouchi has a point." Honda says and the others slowly agree.

"Call me when you get home!" Katori states firmly to Terry.

"Me too…!" Emiko chimes in. "I don't want to find out way later that you decided to do something else so stupid!" Terry nods, smiling and the two head off.

"She has a point…it was stupid, but I'd probably do the same." Jonouchi admits. "It was valiant, brave, and whatever else that encompass heroism-even the stupidity of the title." Terry lets out a small laugh and sighs.

"That's just the way I am…I'm no hero, but I can't just stand by and watch wrongs happen either." She winces a bit from the pain in her sore hand but takes it silently, knowing full well it is hurting for a just cause in her opinion.

"Yeah…I know what you mean…." Jonouchi mumbles lightly, thinking about his past life. Before he could easily turn from many horrific things; figuring that it is not his business or serves the person right to getting in that mess in the first place. He had his own troubles to worry about at the time. _But then I met him…_ Jonouchi lets out a huge sigh as the memories; the good, bad, humiliating, hilarious, and everything in between; keep rolling on in his mind. He feels his heart sink a bit like a paper with a rock dropped onto it. _But why…?_

"Jonouchi, Jonouchi, you can put me down now…we're here." Terry says for the fifth time in a row.

"Hunh? Oh sorry about that…!" He quickly lets her down and scratches the back of his head. Terry smiles lightly and waves it off as nothing.

"You were thinking about something deeply. You were so quiet. Do you mind me asking about what exactly?"

"It's nothing…." He lies, looking to the floor, clenching his fist tightly. Terry notices that it is a touchy subject and lets out a tiny sigh but smiles none the less. She gently places her hand above his tightly clenched fist to grab his attention.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." She shakes her head lightly. "I'm sorry. Whatever it is, it can't stay painful forever. Nothing ever does." She grabs a hold of his hand and leads him to the front door limping a bit. "C'mon in, I'm sure my Father would love to know you're in one piece as well."

"Are you sure, it's kind of late I should get home." He says a bit hesitantly as she unlocks the door.

"Well I personally believe it's even too late to walk home. You should spend the night here."

"I dunno…will your Dad be okay with that?"

"He'd be happy to have you." Terry smiles, holding the door open for Jonouchi. "If you don't believe me, find out for yourself."

"Thank goodness you're all right!" Mr. Sharif envelops Terry in a tight hug the moment he sees her. He looks to Jonouchi and smiles kindly. "Thank you for bringing her back."

"It's the least I can do." He thumbs his nose lightly before giving a thumbs-up.

"Thank you." He smiles softly at Terry. "You are a handful, you know that?" She smiles lightly as he gives her a quick squeeze and motions for her to go clean up. She nods in reply and heads to the bathroom on the ground floor.

"Mr. Sharif…she doesn't recall ever being here…she doesn't remember me at all either…why? What made you guys move away?" Jonouchi asks finally, fed up with guessing. It has been nagging him ever since he remembered why she looks so familiar. They were friends as kids for about three years. They met at the park one day. He was playing hide and seek with his sister and stumbled upon Terry who was swinging alone on the play set that people find too far to go to.

"I was wondering when you'd ask that." He looks to the closed bathroom door, the sound of the running faucet hearable still. "My wife, her mother, left us abruptly one day after some negative incidents…she was not fond of Terry for various reasons and found it best to leave. Terry, from the shock I guess, was quiet for a while after that and I thought it best to move away from here. We moved to America, she got better. I was relieved that I got my baby girl back but she repressed the memories on her own. When she saw photos, she never really said anything but asked when we visited the places. I never pushed her to recall any of it. I left it for when she would get older and a bit more mature. I thought now's the time to start slowly unpacking those memories." He sighs, wiping his glasses with his shirt before placing them back in place.

"So she didn't want to remember me?" Jonouchi hesitantly says, trying to understand what went on in her head. His heart sunk a bit from feeling rejected. His thoughts encompass what he may have done wrong as a kid to make her want to forget him.

"She was a little girl; she went through a tough time while knowing you. She repressed everything that went on with her. I'm sure if she could've kept some memories, it would be of the times she spent with you and your sister. When I used to pick her up after hanging out with you two, she would nonstop talking about everything you did and go on about how happy she is that she made friends." He places a reassuring hand on Jonouchi's shoulder. "Give her some time. Who knows, maybe you will be the one to help her remember more than me."

"Yeah…." He sighs lightly. "Do you mind if I spend the night here?" He asks hesitantly after a quick glance at the time.

"Why on Earth would you think that? You're always welcome here!" He chuckles softly. "The guest room is still filled with some boxes but the bed is set up and everything is there."

Terry walks out of the bathroom while rewrapping her hand as best as she can.

"Did you ask?" She asks Jonouchi as she reaches the two.

"Yeah, he said that it's okay."

"See, I told you!" She grins. "But I suppose you're going to need some sleeping clothes. Jeans aren't comfortable to sleep in."

"Nah, I can sleep in anything, trust me." He winks with hi famous grin. "Just tell me where to go and I'm good."

"Well I'm heading to bed myself. See you two in the morning." She hugs her dad good night and motions for Jonouchi to follow her and he does. They stay on the ground floor of the house and just go down the hall and passing some doors before entering the door at the end on the hall way. It is a quaint room with a dresser, bed, and nightstands set up. There is another door in the room that leads to the closet and a few unpacked boxes all around

"Bathroom is down the hall, third door from here on the left. I'll be upstairs in my room if you need anything. It is the door farthest from the stairs. See you in the morning."

"Okay, thanks Ter'!" He ruffles her hair.

"G'dnight Joey." She smiles and waves before closing the door behind her and heading up to her own room. Jonouchi stares at the door for a bit with a confused expression.

"Joey…?" He scratches his head a bit, repeating the name several times to himself. "I like it." He smirks, sitting on the soft mattress. _Dad probably won't give a shit…. I'll just tell him I bunked at Honda's. Some school thing came up or something. He's probably drunk right now and passed out on the couch…again._ He sighs and flops back down onto the soft bed. He did not realize how tired he was until now and his eyes instantly shut as he falls into a deep snoring slumber.

**WELL UNTIL NEXT TIME, C-YA.**


	8. Punk 8: Running Part 1

The night ticks away silently until the sun rises and calls the time for the new day. Jonouchi grumbles and throws the covers over his head as the light hits his face. There were no blinds or curtains put up yet so the sunlight hits his face unblocked by anything.

"Five more minutes…." He mumbles into the pillow that he throws over his head as someone knocking at the door disrupts his sleep. He tries to go back to his beautiful dream of defeating Kaiba in a verbal match, being swarmed by fan girls all over, and living the rock star life while having all of his friends with him, especially Yami, who returns to the good old ways and is best friends with him once again. Just as he is about to kiss a hot brunette, another knock smears the image and he is popped back into reality. _Couldn't they have been a few seconds late? I almost got to kiss the head cheerleader!_ He thinks sourly, scowling at the door.

"It's time for breakfast Jonouchi." Terry's voice says from the other side. Instantly his anger towards the dream disrupter dissipates as she scrambles from under the covers to get to the table. He tries to stand up but his feet get caught up in the sheets and he ends up falling to the ground with a huge thud. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…peachy…." He hoarsely says, trying to hold off the pain as he steadies himself on to his feet again. He pulls on his shirt that he had taken off for the night and opens the door. "Morning…!" He smiles.

"G'dmorning," Terry says happily and hands him a brush. "There is toothpaste in the bathroom mirror down here." She points to the bathroom door. The kitchen is to the right when you get to the end of the hall. See you in the kitchen." She smiles and leaves him to start and finish a quick ritual. He follows her directions but messes it up somehow and ends up upstairs.

_Now how the hell did I get up here? There house isn't that big! She said take a left and go down the hall, but there were stairs…. Maybe their kitchen is upstairs._ He shrugs and looks at the door down the hall from him. He scratches his head and shrugs before head to the door and opens it. He freezes in utter shock at the sight that greets him. Terry has her right side mainly to him in only a skirt and undergarments. His face turns bright red as his eyes bug out. Once he grabs a hold of himself from the shock, he covers his eyes and slams the door shut behind him. "I didn't mean to do that sorry!" He cries out, walking back and ends up falling backwards down the stairs. Terry looks at the door, hearing the slam and raises a brow at it, not really sure what is going on. She then hears Jonouchi's shouting apology and then the sound of someone tumbling down the stairs. She quickly pulls on her button down shirt and buttons most of it and grabs her vest as she runs down to the stairs to see what happened.

She sees her swirly eyed fallen companion and rushes down to see if he is all right.

"Are you all right?" She asks concerned, as she helps him back on his feet. "What happened?"

"I don't know…." He holds his head a bit as his surrounding spin. When everything stops moving and the birds that spun around him flutter off, he recalls exactly what happened and his face turns tomato red again.

"Are you feeling all right?" She places a hand on his forehead."Your face is red!"

"I'm fine, I just fell." He moves his head away. "I kind of walked in on you in your room while you were changing and uhm yeah…." He scratches his head, nervously laughing. He looks down in shame as Terry's face now turns a shade of red.

"A-accidents happen all the time. It's okay…I should check to see if I shut the door completely next time." She rationalizes. _It's not like he was trying to look at me._ She clears her throat a bit and looks at how ashamed he is. "I'm not upset Jonouchi." She smiles reassuringly as she makes him look at her.

"Really…?" His expression perks up a bit and he hugs her tightly in joy, "YAY!" He spins her around from joy. She laughs in response and is eventually let down. "You know I really like that nickname you called me…Joey, it fits me well!" He grins.

"Haha, glad you like it." She leads the way to the kitchen. "My dad left earlier than us because his job called him in so it's pretty much just us. We should quickly eat and head to your place to get your uniform." She says as they sit and begin to eat.

"Uhm…okay…." Jonouchi swallows hard and stuffs his face quickly. He did not want to be their when his dad wakes up. He inhales the food and helps Terry clean up so they can quickly run to his place and then school. They rush over to his place and he quickly sneaks in through the fire escape while telling her to stay in the alley. He stumbles into the apartment with a thud but luckily his father snores away. He quickly changes into the uniform and exits through the fire escape. He jumps down with ease.

"Shall we?" He dusts himself off. Realizing that Terry is nowhere in sight, he looks around for her.

"Lets shall." Terry grins and grabs his wrist while running.

"Hey wait, why are we running?" He turns around to see a few thugs he used to hang with and then looks to Terry. "What did you do? I left you for about ten minutes!"

**WELL UNTIL NEXT TIME, C-YA.**


	9. Punk 9: Running Part 2

Terry laughs at his response and tugs him along, dodging any oncoming traffic of cars, pedestrians, and any other moving or stationary objects. She steps on to a bench between two people who are blushing and looking away from one another. They both turn to face one another and end up kissing Jonouchi's face on the cheek. They two freak out some, realizing they kissed this random teen that is being dragged by a girl. He vaults over the bench but gets caught on the fence, falling to the ground face first.

"You okay?" Terry huffs while helping him up though a huge grin adorns her face.

"Why the hell are we running anyway?" He pants.

"Because I-." She is cut off by the sound of the group shouting to 'Get that bitch' and she laughs lightly. "I'll explain once we're free!" She grabs his hand and starts to run again. The band of hooligans hurtles over the fence and carelessly shoves the couple as they try to kiss again. They look at one another and then to the running ruffians as they stampede after the first two. All the while, Jonouchi catches his footing as she drags him along and starts to run beside her.

"You so owe me an explanation for this!" He shouts, clearly not liking this morning run after trying to escape the possible death his father would bring if woken up.

"Don't worry, I will!" She snickers and they finally reach the train station that stops by their school. Just as the train is about to close, they manage to squeeze in and the group fumes. Their profanities censored by the shut doors that muffled them and are escorted off premise by a cop. Terry lets out a sigh of relief and laughs, wiping her brow after letting go of his hand.

"Explain…now…!" He pants, crouching over as much as he can in the packed car.

"Well, you see…when you went up I overheard some guys being jerks to two kids. I went to go distract them and let the boys go. By distraction, I pretty much stopped them before they started to beat on them." She scratches her head lightly, having generally caught her breath. "He looked oddly familiar though…." She says after she recollects how the kid looked. "He had these eyes that just reminded me of someone…. The other one had really spiky hair." She tugs a bang of hers upwards. But I could be making this up though; I mean I only glanced at them to tell them to run before booking it myself." She shrugs.

"Spiky hair hunh…?" Jonouchi scratches the side of his chin. "Kids and their crazy styles these days…." He rolls his eyes, combing his fingers through his hair and accidentally elbowing a man, giving him an uppercut. The elder business man is completely taken off guard and knocks into the man behind him, causing mini domino effect which rounds back to them by Terry being shoved into Jonouchi who is pressed flat into the door and they fall to the floor as the gates open.

She quickly stands up, helping him up as well, before being trampled on by the exiting passengers.

"What you know, our stop!" She laughs. "I swear, this has to be one of those days where everything is about literally not knowing what is going to happen next!"

"You can say that again, damn that hurt! It seems like me and the ground is destined to meet today." He grumbles, rubbing his lower back.

"Mother Earth and the pavement just love you!" She grins, pulling his cheek. Terry grabs his elbow and leads the way out of the station after they grab their bags and straighten out any spilt books. "Well, at least the running is over with hunh…?"

"Yeah…." He sighs happily. "I don't think I can run-" He is cut off by Terry stopping. "What…?" He looks at her, seeing her eyes wide in shock staring at something. He looks in the direction buy finds nothing that is out of the ordinary. Before he can ask what she is looking at, she is yanking him through the crowd excusing them and apologizing like no other. "Why the hell are we running?" He shouts over the sound of the crowd.

"We're late!" She shouts back, point to a clock on a nearby building. He looks to it and his eyes bug out.

"Oh shit, if I'm late again, I'm getting after school detention for certain!" He starts to run faster and ends up reversing the situation. "Pick up the pace woman! I've got to get to school or else I'm doomed!" Terry laughs at this but tries to catch up with him as best she can. She mainly bumps into people on her right side compared to her left.

They eventually reach the school, tossing their shoes into their lockers and pulling on the slippers before skidding at the door of their classroom and stumble in one after the other just as the bell rings.

"Made it…!" He exclaims in pride and Terry sighs with relief, having flopped on her butt. Jonouchi is full out on the floor, having dived into the class like a baseball player skidding to home base in the last moments of the game. They both sit their gasping for breath before looking at one another and laughing like no other. The teacher comes in, looking at the two and they laugh even harder before being told to head to their seats sternly. They quickly get up, zipping their lips and following the orders, both snickering a bit as they take their seats and get the needed books out. Terry notices that the seat beside her is empty.

Kaiba comes walking in plainly twenty or so minutes later, storming into the room practically. He takes his seat without any word and the teacher just lets him, knowing he only is late for something urgent and rarely ever is. It is obvious he is on edge and Terry is actually curious as to why. She does not ask though since class is in session. She turns to her friend Emiko, giving a curious glance but she just shrugs. Emiko scribbles on the corner of her notebook and shows it to Katori. Katori shrugs in response at this and Terry quickly turns back to the front so the teacher does not get upset.

The class eventually comes to an end and Terry turns to Kaiba but he flips out his cell phone as soon as the ending bell rings and he is off into the hall talking quickly and urgently almost. Katori goes to him as soon as he is done with the quick call and keeps him outside as they talk. He insists that nothing is wrong. He walks past her and sits back in his seat. Terry looks to Katori who is sullen and shakes her head as Emiko comes up to her to talk. Terry scowls a bit and wonders even more since Kaiba is not one too really to snap with actual care behind it. He only snapped when being ruthless.

"Something up that you don't like talking about…?" She asks plainly.

"Not you too…." He rolls his eyes and growls under his breath. "It doesn't-."

"Alright…." She shrugs lightly. He is about to continue but stops.

"What…?"

"What…?" She looks back to him and raises a brow in question. "You don't want to talk about it so I won't ask. But if you want to talk, I'm here to listen." She says plainly with a small kind smile. The next teacher comes in and the standing students retake their seats. The next class, Terry is excused from the group and heads to the high level art class she was able to take due to impressing the teacher with her work. She sighs with relief on not knowing anyone in this class since she does not have to forcibly associate with people and just have some self time. She pulls on her slightly DJ esque headphones. She heads over to grab her sketchpad from the shelf when her hand collides with another and she looks to see who, apologizing but her eyes widen at the sight of Bakura.

"What the fuck are you staring at?" He snaps, grabbing his pad and heading back to his seat. She stands there, realizing his cheeks were tinted a soft pink. She smiles a bit and shakes her head.

_Knew he couldn't be all that bad._ She sighs and takes the empty seat which ends up being by him since all the others are either afraid or some girls try to be in his line of sight so they can flirt with him from how they fix up their appearance. She pays them no heed though and just gets to working on the sketch they had to do of the student told to model for them. It is a girl in the cheerleader uniform since it is a school spirit week thing. Bakura snarls at her, about to threaten her but stops, seeing she is not even paying him any attention and too absorbed into her work.

_Does she not realize she's sitting next to me, the guy who had the crap beaten out of her friend and the guy that practically did the same to her?_ He looks at her as if she is an alien with a giant foot for a head or something. He lets it go though and turn to his own art. He did not like these assignment where they have a specific theme to comply to, he easily able to do it though. The class goes on with no real complications and he actually finds that he liked sitting next to her since she did not try to start a conversation or anything. He shakes his head though, discarding the thought as ridiculous, putting his things away, and heads out without a word. Terry is so absorbed in the art that she forgets the time and soon is rushing back to class.

**WELL UNTIL NEXT TIME, C-YA.**


	10. Punk 10: Confusion

Terry runs down the halls frantically, slipping and sliding a bit in her slippers since they do not have the greatest grip. She continuously repeats in her head like a mantra to not be late and that she can make it or begging for the time to stand still. She skids at a turn and sees her classroom not far down the hall, a cross section away.

_Oh yes! The final stretch!_ She sighs heavily and takes one deep breath as she lunges forth into the empty hall, arms swinging fully as she does. She closes her eyes to make it less painful of a sight for her and because she is concentrating on her feet, trying to make them move faster. But suddenly she feels her body hit something solid after slipping and tripping due to her slippers. She can tell by the object reacting that it is certainly in inanimate. She slowly opens her eyes to see who it is exactly and finds herself staring into somewhat familiar azure-violet eyes. Her face goes slightly pale as it dawns upon her on who it is, her eyes trailing up to the spiky tricolored hair.

Yami had just been walking in, though the morning classes are pretty much over. He had something very important to take care of after getting word from a very reliable source. He had to straighten out the issue instantly and had just got done with it. A few adhesive strips adorn his face from fresh wounds as well as the occasional soft hue of red and the purple of a forming bruise disrupting his smooth skin. He is not in all that great of a mood either and had kind of hoped to not run into her of all people today, but he suddenly found himself pinned to the hall wall with her in his arms. A small blush paints his cheeks as he realizes how close she is to him.

"S-sorry…" She mumbles softly, her cheeks a soft rogue themselves. She had never really expected to find herself in a position like this but she also never expected herself to find him so attractive as well. She expects him to shove her away and dust himself off but he does not and she looks at him surprised.

"What…?" He snaps, steadying himself, straightening her out as well. He then realizes his hands lay low on her hips and he quickly rips them from her as if she suddenly burnt him.

"You're not going to-never mind." She shakes her head, not wanting to ruin the insult free moment. She is curious about the scrapes and bruises though. "What happened…? If you don't mind my asking…."

"What's it to you?" He says defensively.

"Nothing…curiosity…." She shrugs and backs off. The sound of the bell snaps her out of the conversation. "Damn I'm late!" She snaps her fingers but leaves it as is and looks to him. "See you in class if you come." She shrugs lightly when he grabs her elbow. He mutters something and she looks at him funny. He repeats it barely a decibel louder and she leans in closer to him. "Come again?"

"I said thank you damn it!" He snaps, gripping her arm tighter a bit.

"For what…?"

"You know what!"

"Do…I…am I supposed to?" She looks at him in utter bewilderment as she has no clue as to why he would ever thank her for anything at all. The last thing she did to him was beat up Bakura yesterday and that was hardly something she expects him to thank her for.

"Seriously, you don't know?" He looks at her, realizing she is in fact not kidding. "Then why did I even bother to waste my time!?" He grumbles and rolls his eyes, clearly not used to the hold gratitude ethics. He mumbles off to himself on how he should have just never even said anything and heads to class. Terry frowns a bit at him and scoffs.

"Like I'm supposes to know what you're thanking me for? You of all people thus far? You've only made my time here-however long it has been, a living torment!" She snaps finally. She had had it with him. This entire time she had kept to herself and let bygones be bygones but this is just getting way too much for her own self. She is not a mind reader and never will be. He had tripped her, shoved her aside, and purposely tried to embarrass her, mock her, tease her, insult her, and do almost everything in his power to give her no peace of mind while within the walls of this building, making it a punishment ward where she has no choice but to attend daily almost. "Did you expect me to not question why you are thanking me at all? I mean c'mon! Get over yourself! I don't care about you or your stupid little mind games! Just leave me the hell alone!" She finally snaps and heads in to the classroom. She is excused by the teacher unceremoniously and she takes her seat and calms herself down.

For the remainder of the day, she is silent and shut to herself. The only person willing to even silently sit by her is Jonouchi. She bites into her lunch a bit harshly and grumbles mentally. She does not know why she snapped but she did and she feels a bit guilty since he was thanking her for something. After a long thought of silence, a small sigh escapes her lips and she looks off into the distance.

"I should apologize…." She finally says and Jonouchi's ears perk up at the words.

"For what…? And to whom…?"

"Well, a strange as this may sound-to Yami for snapping at him when he was trying to thank me for something." She gives a quick and detail free briefing of the event and waits for his reaction on the matter.

"So wait a sec-you ran into him and he did nothing?" She nods her head. "Then you he snapped at you for asking about why he is bruised?" She nods her head again with a small 'Mhm'. "And then as you're about to come to class, he stops to thank you and you have no idea why-he snaps after that and you snapped back and told him to leave you alone?" She nods her head again. "Damn, you snapped at Yami? No girl has ever done that! They all are busy keeping away from him or just ogling him all day." He rolls his eyes but grins widely. "Go you! Man, I can't wait to see how he reacts to that! I mean, it explains why he had that funny look on his face of shock."

"Ugh, I hope he will end this civilly. I don't need his attention at all. Not like I did anything to really piss him off or anything." She rubs her face. "I mean, why me? He even has a girlfriend. So he can't possibly be doing it out of kindness or some romantic infatuation. Though if that were true…not possible." She shakes her head." She rests her chin on one of her palms and looks out the window. Jonouchi looks out as well and scowls a bit. He did not lie seeing her like this so he tries to think of something.

"Hey, how about we play some Duel Monsters?" He asks very eagerly.

"Duel Monsters…?" She looks at him confused. He laughs at her response, practically keeling over in laughter, slapping her back a bit. He finally calms down and sighs, wiping his eye from the tear that threatens to accumulate and fall.

"You're kidding right?" He chuckles a bit. She just looks at him with the same confused expression and lightly shakes her head in a 'no' gesture.

"Wait…you're serious?! You don't know what Duel Monsters is?!" He leans over, his face mere inches from her with a stunned appearance.

"No…I don't know what that is. But I'm presuming it's a game that is a current fad." She says, leaning back a bit from him. "I was in other countries, remember? I didn't get a chance to stay in one place due to my father's work at times…and was never in the position to go out and see what's the hottest thing on the market."

"You've been missing out then!" He stands up straight, hands gripping his hair. "I mean, you've never even heard of it once?"

"N-well it sounds familiar but I can't really say how or why." She shrugs lightly and the others come and join the two, seeing Jonouchi freak out grabs their attention.

"She's never played Duel Monsters before guys!" He says first thing and they all stare at her like she is an alien. She scratches her head nervously and grins feebly. She obviously gets that it is one of the major fads of this area but from the sounds of it-it may be bigger than that.

"You really have never heard of Duel Monsters?" Marik asks, raising a brow skeptically. He knows she at least must have heard of it in some way in Egypt.

"It sounds familiar, but I'm drawing blanks." She shrugs. Emiko cuts off Marik and gives her an overview of the game, the others taking turns to add or correct as she goes. Terry blinks blankly for a bit and looks a bit dumbfounded. "So it is a children's card game? Where you battle monsters and stuff?"

"Precisely," Katori chimes in. "Kaiba's company Kaiba Corp creates the technology to help enhance the gaming experience." She adds as Kaiba walks in. He pays them no heed, not bothering to find out why his name or company is being mentioned.

"So Kaiba uses his advance technology and multi-trillion dollar company to advance the experience of a children's card game?" She snickers a bit and shakes her head lightly. This is all too amusing to her but she finds herself curious to know why they all are so hung up on this game. "I guess I'll give it a shot. I mean you all seem to really like it and it can't hurt to try." She shrugs.

All the while, Yami had been watching her and listening to the conversation as they spoke. He had not played in two years and found a strange aching to play the fun game once again with his dear old friends. He did not know why the sudden feeling comes about. He had not felt this strange tugging for about a good year or so now. He then hears that the new girl, who he has yet to get the name of, is oblivious to the game. A small smile of amusement cracks on his flat-line lips as he thinks how strange it is for her to not know what that game is. He also finds her wording of the game entertaining as well. They all are young adults obsessed with a children's car game. Anzu notices his lack of response to her novella of thought on something regarding clothing and dancing. She looks to see what he is generally looking at and sees the group of chattering classmates and then Terry. She glares at the girl and makes Yami turn back to her and kisses him lustfully. He does not react to the kiss at first but slowly returns it. He liked Anzu, she is one of the prettiest girls in the school and has been dating her for two years no as is. He pulls away from the kiss and smirks at her a bit.

"To what do I owe that for?" He asks in his usual lazy tone.

"Nothing…I just wanted to let you know we should get to know each other a bit more tonight." She shrugs lightly with a smirk of her own.

"I'll see if I'm free." He says casually, most likely going to decline her. He has been annoyed with her obsession of that but say nothing. The bell rings and lunch time is over. The students return to their seats and the teacher arrives.

**WELL UNTIL NEXT TIME, C-YA.**


	11. Punk 11: Meeting Part of the Family

The rest of the day goes by pretty smoothly in the sense that nothing happens in school. Yami does get up and randomly leave in the middle of one but no one really says anything. The teacher even just let it slide on by. Terry figures that it has become something of a routine that some come to accept while others still try and fight it. She wonders what he means to Jonouchi since whenever he is brought up; a tinge of sorrow is seen within the warm honeydew brown optics of her newfound friend. Something about Jonouchi over all bothered her as well. He seemed vaguely familiar to her but she just could not put her finger on it.

She leaves it be though and at the end of the school day she packs her bag and heads to her shoe locker after the mad rush to the door. Jonouchi grabs her shoulder as she has her back towards where he came from. She looks to see him and the others.

"What's up?" She asks, seeing that she gets a feeling that something has been planned.

"We want to take you to a game shop to see Duel Monster cards. Jonouchi wanted to go buy some new ones today anyway." Honda explains.

"Oh…okay I guess. How far is it from here?" She asks thoughtfully, wanting to give her father a rough estimate on the time she will be home.

"It's a walking distance from here-about a few blocks." Emiko points to the general direction of the place. Terry nods her head and dials her father quickly. She relays the news and he happily lets her go but insists she try her best to return home before dark.

"Don't worry dad, I will." She says and hangs up. "Well, I can go." They all cheer happily and before she knows it, she is being tugged in a random direction by Jonouchi whose yelling 'Then what the hell are we waiting for, let's go!' on the top of his lungs. Terry snickers and quickly gains the pace and footing so she can catch up and retrieves her arm from him.

"Is this place some big and expensive store or something? Famous in anyway…?" She asks curiously since they seem really excited to go. _It could just be a store they like and be a smaller end thing._ She thinks for a bit.

"It's not famous like Kaiba Corp but it's a small nearby shop that gets good business." Honda explains.

"Yeah, we used to go to it all the time too but then-" Jonouchi glares at Katori who instantly shuts her mouth. Terry notices the exchange in the peripheral vision of her left side while on the right she misses the glare Honda gives Jonouchi but dodges hitting someone there in opposing traffic. She had not turned to Jonouchi but they noticed the inconsistency of notifications on her sides. Honda had been glancing at her to get her attention as has Emiko but Katori is easily able to obtain it with a slight glance.

"Terry-are you mad at us?" Emiko asks as they wait for a walking signal.

"Hunh…?" she turns to her friend and raises a brow in question. "No…why do you think I'd be?"

"Well we've been trying to get your attention for the past few minutes but you haven't really noticed so I thought maybe you'd be upset for some reason." She says simply.

"Oh, I didn't notice at all!" she laughs a bit nervously. "I was deep in my own thoughts, sorry."

"Yeah, she gets like that from time to time." Marik rolls his eyes and throws his arm around her shoulder. "She's lost cause really!" he sighs heavily.

"Am not!" she puffs her cheeks a bit but gets what he is trying to do for her. The others laugh and walk around the two as they pretend to bicker. "Thanks…." She sighs softly as the other walk ahead.

"No problem, but do you plan on telling them about it or no…?" he asks, leading them to the others but keeping a safe distance.

"I don't know…." she frowns lightly. "I mean yes they're very caring but what would they say if they were to find out about my condition? I know they wouldn't make fun but they'd treat me different." She covers her left with her left hand, letting Marik guide her properly as she walks with her gaze to the floor in thought. "She left because of it too…I wouldn't expect much different from them as well if they decide to not associate with me."

"I'm pretty sure you can tell by now that they aren't the types to just drop you like that." He scowls a bit at her pessimistic outlook. "I mean, look at how happy they are with you! And Jonouchi cares for you like no other and it's been what…about a month or so now?" he points out as well. "They all care about you to some extent."

"I know…I know…but it's just if it gets out, I know for a fact those two goons will try and ruin my experience in school even more!" she grumbles a bit, her cheeks a light red thought it is very unnoticeable.

"True…" he sighs. "So very true…well think about it and if you want, I'll help you if you need any. Don't hesitate to come to me at all." He hugs her securely in his arms in a brotherly manner. She returns the hug and pecks him on the cheek.

"Thanks…and I'll be sure to call if I ever need anything." He ruffles her hair at her response as they reach a small game shop. In front of the store is a short slightly hunched over old man with a bandanna on his head with grey hair, a beard, a moustache, and wearing green overalls brooming.

"Hey Grampa, can I see the new cards you got now?" a young voice calls out as the door opens up. Terry looks in slight surprise to see the tri-coloured hair boy yet again.

"In a second Yugi…." They both look up at the group of teenagers, all grinning and the little boy practically jumps with utter joy. "Jonouchi!" he tackles the blonde and hugs him tightly. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Hey there Yuug!" he laughs, ruffling the little boys hair. "Man you've grown!" he whistles after setting the boy down on his feet.

"Yup!" he nods his head and looks a little smug about it. "I grew an inch just this morning." They all praise Yugi for the great accomplishment and reacquaint themselves with the lad and his grandfather.

"And who might this lovely young lady be…?" the grandfather grins, kissing the back of Terry's hand. "She is quite the vision to behold."

"Stop being a perv Grandpa!" Yugi scowls and Marik pulls Terry away.

"My name is Terry Sharif…it's a pleasure to meet you." She says a bit hesitantly, the pervert comment making her question the phrase a bit.

"Hey, you're the girl I hit in the head with the soccer ball by accident and save me and Moki from getting beat up!" he says in shock, finally getting why she looks so familiar.

"He was on the boys you tried to save?" Jonouchi asks when it clicks. "That why those morons were casing you!"

"Chasing who-what?!" the others worry and Terry explains to everyone what had happened in the morning.

"Yeah and I never got to thank you." Yugi adds.

"Moki…?" she tilts her head to the side a bit. "Oh, so you and your friend were the ones! Glad I could help." She waves it off, dismissing any need of gratitude.

"Yeah Moki is Mokubah! He's my best friend." He explains. "You totally kicked that guys butt! I wanted to stay and watch but…" he trails off, not wanting to admit he was afraid. She laughs a bit and pats his head.

"It's okay, I told you to run and you listened. If you'd have stayed, they probably would've surrounded us both."

"You could've taken 'em! And Yami would've come too!"

"Yami…why would he come…?"

"Cause, I'm his older brother." He says from behind her, making her stiffen greatly, and everyone else goes silent as Yugi hugs his brother. She turns to look at him and everything starts to make sense.

"About earlier-"

"Forget it…" he says simply and hoists Yugi up on to his shoulders. "Thanks…for saving the squirt." He says bluntly, shocking everyone even more than before.

"No need to thank me, I'm just glad him and his friend are safe." She shakes her head lightly, dismissing him from any gratitude.

"That's no way to talk to a fine young woman like her, especially when she saved our little Yuug!" his grandfather says sternly. Yami merely rolls his eyes, shoving past Terry and heading in carefully so Yugi does not hit his head on the door frame. Jonouchi growls at him as he bumps into her.

"What the hell man…? Why are you such an ass still? Why'd you change?" he snaps, a bit of pain in his tone.

"Leave it be…." Honda says, placing a hand on Jonouchi's shoulder.

"No!" he snaps and looks to Yami's back. "Why did you just up and switch everything about you?"


End file.
